Special economic zones can be an effective instrument to promote industrialization if implemented properly in the right context. In China, starting in the 1980s, special economic zones were used as a testing ground for the country's transition from a planned to a market economy, and they are a prime example of China's pragmatic and experimental approach to reforms.
... See More + One of the great special economic zone success stories in China is the Suzhou Industrial Park, a modern industrial township developed in the early 1990s through a Sino-Singapore partnership. It is successful not just in the economic sense, but also in terms of urban and social development in an eco-friendly way. One key lesson is that in a weak market environment, a facilitating and reform-oriented host government, coupled with foreign expertise and knowledge as well as a "whole value chain" approach can go a long way in developing urban-industry well-integrated special economic zones. This paper is intended to examine the success factors and key lessons of the Sino-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, which can be useful for other developing countries.
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Special economic zones can be an effective instrument to promote industrialization if implemented properly in the right context. In China, starting in the 1980s, special economic zones were used as a testing ground for the country's transition from a planned to a market economy, and they are a prime example of China's pragmatic and experimental approach to reforms.
... See More + One of the great special economic zone success stories in China is the Suzhou Industrial Park, a modern industrial township developed in the early 1990s through a Sino-Singapore partnership. It is successful not just in the economic sense, but also in terms of urban and social development in an eco-friendly way. One key lesson is that in a weak market environment, a facilitating and reform-oriented host government, coupled with foreign expertise and knowledge as well as a "whole value chain" approach can go a long way in developing urban-industry well-integrated special economic zones. This paper is intended to examine the success factors and key lessons of the Sino-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, which can be useful for other developing countries.
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This paper provides a brief overview of the progress and challenges of the Multi-functional Economic Zones in Zambia, as well as some possible policy interventions for moving forward.
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This study briefly summarizes the development experiences of special economic zones in China and Africa, the lessons that Africa can learn from China, and the preliminary results of the Chinese investments in special economic zones in Africa.
... See More + The study makes recommendations on how to unleash the power of special economic zones and industrial zones in Africa through strategically leveraging the Chinese experiences. The success factors of Chinese special economic zones include the strong and long-term commitment of the government, a conducive business environment in the zones, strategic locations, technology upgrading and skills training, and strong linkages with the local economy. However, the Chinese experiences highlight some pitfalls to avoid, such as the “mushroom approach” and high-level overlaps at the later stage, environmental degradation, and the unbalance between industrial development and social dimensions. This calls for a bigger role for the market. Sub-Sahara Africa's experience with traditional economic zones has been relatively poor, except in a few countries, such as Mauritius. The key challenges include the poor regulatory and institutional framework, lack of effective strategic planning, weak governance and implementation capacity, and inadequate infrastructure, among others. Since 2006, China has implemented special economic zone projects globally, including in four countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is still too early to conduct a full assessment of these projects; however, the evidence shows that some zones have begun to attract investments and make important contributions to the local economy. The main challenges include access to land, regulatory barriers, resettlement and coordination issues, and lack of external infrastructure.
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This paper is intended to provide a brief overview of the different SEZ experiences in China and Africa, the key lessons that Africa can learn from China, as well as the recent Chinese zones in Africa.
... See More + For this purpose, the paper is structured in the following way: section 1 starts with definition of SEZs, then followed with the Chinese experiences (section 2), African experiences (section 3), the lessons that Africa can learn from China (section 4), Chinese zones in Africa (section 5), and then concludes.
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This report provides a brief overview of six economic zones in Nigeria, and discusses the main findings with respect to the zones: development goals and the anticipated benefits of the zone projects, key implementation challenges and preliminary proposals on enhancing the development/implementation process moving forward.
... See More + The objective is to improve the shared understanding of these six zone projects and to identify opportunities on how foreign investments in these six zones can provide the maximum possible benefits both for investing countries and the host country. Based on a preliminary assessment, it seems all six zones reviewed in this report have made some progress, albeit at different degrees. In terms of real development, the Lekki Free Zone and the Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone have made the most significant progresses, with some on-site infrastructure already built or committed and several firms already operating in the zones. The zones in Abuja and Delta State are mostly in the early stages, but they seem to have strong government ownership and backing and each got several potential partners or anchor firms interested for investing.
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